July 23, 2024 | Volume 20 Issue 28 |
Manufacturing Center
Product Spotlight
Modern Applications News
Metalworking Ideas For
Today's Job Shops
Tooling and Production
Strategies for large
metalworking plants
3D-printing materials just keep getting better -- and now there are more choices than ever. Watch as Walter Voit, SVP Polymer Materials, Desktop Metal, describes the 3D printing of DuraChain Elastic ToughRubber photopolymers, which produce tough and resilient end-use parts while eliminating the need for a two-part resin. DuraChain photopolymers also demonstrate a long pot life of roughly one year, depending on environmental conditions, making them more suitable for volume production and reducing waste from spoiled, unused material. These materials are offered exclusively on the ETEC Xtreme 8K top-down DLP systems. ETEC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal.
Learn about this exciting material.
Learn about the ETEC Xtreme 8K DLP systems -- and what makes them so much better.
THK has developed its best-performing, high-speed rotary bearing ever: the High-Speed, Double-Row Angular Contact Ring BWH. This rotary bearing has balls aligned inside a cage between the inner and outer rings and is part of the THK Rotary Series, along with the cross-roller ring. The main features of this product are its ability to receive loads in all directions as well as its high rigidity and rotational accuracy, which are equal to that of cross-roller rings. By adopting a new structure to change the rolling elements from rollers to balls, this product achieves the greatest high-speed performance ever offered by THK.
Learn more.
Ruland Manufacturing has expanded its jaw coupling line to meet the demands of high-torque applications, now offering bore sizes up to 1-3/4 in. or 45 mm and torque capacities of 2,655 in.-lb (300 Nm). Target uses are in precision systems with high deceleration and acceleration curves, such as semiconductor, solar, conveyor, and warehouse automation applications. Features include zero-backlash, industry-leading misalignment capabilities, and a balanced design that reduces vibration at speeds up to 8,000 rpm.
Learn more.
Can you get a design and functional edge with a wedge? In this animated video, Nord-Lock explains the principle behind their original wedge-locking technology, which secures bolted joints even when exposed to severe vibration and dynamic loads. The company says it is impossible for this washer type to loosen unintentionally, due to the wedge created underneath the bolt head and nut.
View the video.
Copper foam from Goodfellow combines the outstanding thermal conductivity of copper with the structural benefits of a metal foam. These features are of particular interest to design engineers working in the fields of medical products and devices, defense systems and manned flight, power generation, and the manufacture of semiconductor devices. This product has a true skeletal structure with no voids, inclusions, or entrapments. A perennial favorite of Designfax readers.
Learn more.
Rotor Clip has just launched its new, patented InterShim™ Wave Spring design, which has been engineered for high-acceleration electric motor applications. It features alternating turns between inactive (flat) and active (waved) turns to ensure reliable performance under torsional loads and precise rotational movement. The highly customizable wave spring's advanced design addresses physical challenges such as extreme forces and vibrations, making it a versatile solution for high-speed and high-stress applications across various industries.
Learn more.
Xometry's just-launched downloadable Laser Tube Cutting and Tube Bending Design Guide covers design tips and tricks for cutting parts, including minimums, tolerances, and sizes. The guide also covers important rules for mandrel tube bending, like tolerancing, distance between bends, and bends to avoid. Interested in even more in-depth information? Watch the corresponding on-demand webinar, which introduces how Xometry is bringing AI and machine learning to provide instant pricing and lead time on tube bending and cutting to its Instant Quoting Engine.
Get the guide. No registration required.
Watch the extended Best Practices webinar.
A new additive manufacturing material from Stratasys and BASF is aimed at driving greater part quality, versatility, and cost efficiency. SAF™ PP is recognized for its exceptional chemical resistance and airtight capabilities, making it the ultimate choice for complex applications across various industries. It can also be welded to other polypropylene components.
Read the full article.
The new CFL Series cam follower from IKO International boasts a unique, space-saving outer ring design and polymer layer that exceeds the capabilities of conventional resin-type cam followers. Many conventional cam followers press-fit a layer of resin onto the unit's standard outer ring to maintain radial load capacity and provide quiet, clean, and durable operation. However, this thicker assembly makes it difficult to fit into constrained spaces. The CFL Series significantly improves on this design with a polymer layer that is molded directly onto the IKO exclusive thin-walled steel outer ring. This construction solves the dilemma of being able to install a cam follower with special polymers, offering self-lubricating and shock-absorbing properties into existing applications.
Learn more.
SPIROL's new video showcases their updated Model PR and Model CR Semi-Automatic Installation Machines for Pins, Alignment Dowels, and Bushings. The video demonstrates how to operate the machine, details standard features, and optional quality and error-proofing enhancements. More than 80% of the components in this installation equipment are standard, pretested, production-proven, off-the-shelf parts. This translates into faster delivery, greater reliability, and lowest cost for equipment of comparable quality.
View the video.
Greg Paulsen and Steve Zimmerman from Xometry present a comprehensive understanding of CNC design principles, what features are considered common, and what can drive costs. The experts also go through guidance to make great technical drawings to communicate design intent to manufacturers. Lots of good info here. Flip through now and take it all in later when you have the time.
View the video. No registration required.
igus has a new and improved 24-piece iglide® sample box that engineers can request and receive gratis. All iglide components are self-lubricating, resistant to dirt and dust, and offer low rates of wear. The sample box contains bearings, gears, piston rings, and more, and includes many of the most widely used iglide materials. Nothing like having the materials in hand to really check them out.
Learn more.
Zero-Max's ServoClass-HSN Couplings address noise and vibration issues that can be experienced in high-gain, high-speed stepper/servo motor applications such as linear actuators, high-response gantry systems, pick-and-place systems, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Featuring a Highly Saturated Nitrile Rubber (HSN/HNBR) flex element, these couplings are specifically designed for maximum damping and performance. They incorporate the field-proven ServoClass clamping hub system and have a zero-backlash design.
Learn more.
UK-based company Fyous is launching the world's first infinitely reusable molding technology that can shapeshift in under 20 minutes, producing zero tooling waste and making usable parts 14 times faster than 3D printing. Sort of like a kid's pin art toy, Fyous' PolyMorphic molding can be set, used, and then reset to help create parts from carbon fiber, polyurethane, PET sheet (thermoformed), foods like chocolate, and more.
Read the full article.
Stock Drive Products/ Sterling Instrument (SDP/SI) has expanded their selection of flexible couplings to include the single disk-type couplings (short-type) series S50XHSM and the double disk-type couplings (standard length-type) series S50XHWM. The disk-type flexible couplings are an economical option that provides greater torque capability and improved performance in a reduced size, with torque ratings of 0.6 up to 12 Nm -- an improvement over similar products.
Learn more.
DTU researcher Mohamad Khoshkalam has invented a new material based on rock silicates to be used as a solid-state electrolyte that has the potential to replace lithium in future electric car batteries. [Credit: Photo by Frida Gregersen/Courtesy of Technical University of Denmark]
As more and more people switch to electric cars, industry needs to develop a new generation of lithium-free batteries that are at least as efficient, but more eco-friendly and cheaper, to produce. This requires new materials for the battery's main components -- anode, cathode, and electrolyte -- as well as developing new battery designs.
At the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), researcher Mohamad Khoshkalam has invented a material that has the potential to replace lithium in tomorrow's super battery: solid-state batteries based on potassium and sodium silicates. These are rock silicates, which are some of the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. The material is found in the stones you pick up on the beach or in your garden. A great advantage of the new material is that it is not sensitive to air and humidity. This makes it possible to mold it into a paper-thin layer inside the battery.
Patented superionic material
The potential of the milky-white, paper-thin material based on potassium silicate is huge. It is an inexpensive, eco-friendly material that can be extracted from silicates, which cover over 90% of the Earth's surface. The material can conduct ions at around 40 degrees C and is not sensitive to moisture.
This will make scaling up and future battery production easier, safer, and cheaper, as production can take place in an open atmosphere and at temperatures close to room temperature. The material also works without the addition of expensive and environmentally harmful metals such as cobalt, which is currently used in lithium-ion batteries to boost capacity and service life.
"The potential of potassium silicate as a solid-state electrolyte has been known for a long time, but in my opinion has been ignored due to challenges with the weight and size of the potassium ions. The ions are large and therefore move slower," says Khoshkalam.
To understand the potential and challenges of Khoshkalam's discovery, one must first understand the crucial role the electrolyte plays in a battery. The electrolyte in a battery can be a liquid or a solid material -- a so-called solid-state electrolyte. The electrolyte allows the ions to move between the battery's anode and cathode, thereby maintaining the electrical current generated during discharging and charging. In other words, the electrolyte is crucial for the battery capacity, charging time, lifespan, and safety.
The electrolyte's conductivity depends on how fast the ions can move in the electrolyte. The ions in rock silicates generally move slower than the ions in lithium-based liquid electrolytes or solid-state electrolytes, as they are larger and heavier. However, Khoshkalam has found a recipe for a superionic material of potassium silicate and a process that makes the ions move faster than in lithium-based electrolytes.
"The first measurement with a battery component revealed that the material has a very good conductivity as a solid-state electrolyte. I cannot reveal how I developed the material, as the recipe and the method are now patented," says Khoshkalam.
The battery everyone is waiting for
Both researchers and electric car manufacturers consider solid-state batteries to be the super battery of the future. Most recently, Toyota announced it expects to launch an electric car with a lithium solid-state battery in 2027-28. However, several car manufacturers have previously announced electric cars with solid-state batteries, only to subsequently sideline the technology.
In a solid-state battery, the ions travel through a solid material and not through a liquid, as in the regular AA+ lithium-ion batteries you can buy in the supermarket. There are several advantages to this; the ions can move faster through a solid material, making the battery more efficient and faster to charge.
A single battery cell can be made as thin as a piece of cardboard, where the anode, cathode, and solid-state electrolyte are ultra-thin layers of material. This means developers can make more powerful batteries that take up less space. This offers benefits on the road, as users will be able to drive up to 1,000 km on a single, 10-minute charge. In addition, a solid-state battery is more fireproof, as it does not contain combustible liquid.
Before we see the solid-state battery on the market, however, there are several challenges that need to be solved. The technology works well in the lab, but it is difficult and expensive to scale up.
First, the materials and battery research is both complex and time consuming, because the materials are super sensitive and require advanced labs and equipment. The lithium-ion batteries we use today took over 20 years to develop, and we're still developing them.
Second, we need to develop new ways of producing and sealing the batteries so the ultra-thin material layers in the battery cell do not break and have continuous contact in order to work. In the lab, researchers solve this by pressing the layers of the battery cell together at high pressure, but it is difficult to transfer to a commercial electric car battery, which consists of many battery cells.
Solid-state rock battery is high-risk technology
Unlike lithium solid-state batteries, solid-state batteries based on potassium and sodium silicates have a low TRL (technology readiness level). This means there is still a long way to go from discovery in the lab to getting the technology out into society and making a difference. The earliest we can expect to see them in new electric cars on the market is 10 years from now.
It is also a high-risk technology, where the chance of commercial success is small and the technical challenges are many. Nevertheless, Khoshkalam is full of optimism.
"We have shown that we can find a material for a solid-state electrolyte that is cheap, efficient, eco-friendly, and scalable -- and that even performs better than solid-state lithium-based electrolytes," he says.
A year after the discovery in the DTU lab, Khoshkalam has obtained a patent for the recipe and is in the process of establishing the start-up K-Ion, which will develop solid-state electrolyte components for battery companies. The K-ion is part of the DTU Earthbound initiative, where participants receive support to get their research out of the lab faster and into society to make an impact.
The next step for Khoshkalam and his team is to develop a demo battery that can show companies and potential investors that the material works. A prototype is expected to be ready within one to two years.
Source: Technical University of Denmark
Published July 2024